It was in the late 1970s that I borrowed from the local library Kenneth Eastaugh’s
biography ‘Havergal Brian: The Making of a Composer’.
Brian was the very model of an unjustly neglected composer and I recall being
saddened by the promises of numerous premières of his works that never
came to be and his general lack of recognition. I remember buying one or two
recordings played by school orchestras with part of me thinking that this
music cannot be that good if no professional orchestras could be persuaded
to take Brian’s works into the recording studio.

Although at first hearing the music seemed dark, dense and rather impenetrable
I persisted and remained fascinated with the many colourful and exciting sounding
titles such as the Comedy Overtures Doctor Merryheart; The Jolly
Miller and The Tinker's Wedding; Cantata,The Vision of Cleopatra;
Fantastic symphony;Turandot Suite; the Concert Overture For
Valour and, best of all, the thrilling sounding opera The Tigers.

Requiring a thousand singers and musicians the vast proportions of the Symphony
No. 1 ‘The Gothic’, often described as a masterwork,
but probably doomed rarely to be performed professionally, seemed to dominate
and overshadow everything else Brian had written. Who would believe it! In
2011 The Gothic was performed at the BBC Proms (issued by Hyperion)
and thanks to labels such as Naxos, Toccata Classics and Dutton Epoch Brian
recordings seem to be appearing at a fair rate of knots. At this very moment
as I’m sat writing this piece Brian’s Symphony No. 5 (The
Wine of Summer) is being played on BBC Radio 3 on 25 June 2013 by the
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under Nicholas Kok with Donald Maxwell (baritone).
It’s acutely noticeable that his music is absent from concert programmes
but that applies to the vast majority of worthy British composers; not just
to Brian.

It doesn’t seem long since the release on Dutton Epoch CDLX7296 containing
the Symphony No. 13, Violin Concerto, Overture ‘The
Tinker's Wedding’ and the English Suite No. 4 ‘Kindergarten’
played by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under Martyn Brabbins. Now
this welcome Naxos disc arrives containing Symphonies Nos. 22, ‘Symphoniabrevis’, 23 and 24 with the English Suite No.
1, Op. 12. Incidentally the notes in the Naxos booklet state that the
Symphonies Nos. 23 and 24 are being given their first recordings.

In 1958 Brian had moved to Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex and this set of three symphonies
formed part of the last period of Brian’s life when in an Indian summer
of productivity he wrote 20 symphonies. The three here were composed in a
nine month period in 1964/65 when Brian would have been eighty-eight/eighty-nine.
The predominant impression is how charged they are with immense reserves of
weight, power and energy often conveying an intense sense of struggle and
turmoil.

At just over nine minutes the Symphony No. 22 known as the ‘Symphonia
brevis’ is Brian’s shortest symphony. Composed in 1964/65
the two movement score was introduced in 1971 at a recording session at St
John's Smith Square, London played by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under
Myer Fredman. The opening movement Maestoso e ritmico feels predominantly
ardent and restless with the music swelling to an impressive conclusion. A
calm yet uneasy march of a martial quality opens the second movement Tempo
di marcia e ritmico before at 2:28 the music explodes into life taking
the music to a severe and rather acerbic climax before relative calm is restored.

From 1965 the Symphony No. 23 is another two movement score first performed
in 1973 at Galesburg, Illinois by the University of Illinois Symphony Orchestra,
under Bernard Goodman. It seems that Brian considered giving the score the
title of ‘Symphonia grandis’. A sense of pressurised anxiety
and suppressed anger suffuses the opening movement Moderato - Allegro con
anima which feels like a depiction of an army preparing for imminent battle.
The second movement marked Adagio non troppo ma pesante is dark and
craggy, laden with a strong sense of apprehension. Just prior to the conclusion
the music takes on a distinctly martial quality.

Using a single movement form, divided into three discernable sections, the
Symphony No. 24 in D major is mightily impressive. I responded to it
strongly and consider it a twentieth century masterwork. Composed in 1965
it was not until 1973 that it was first performed for the reason of making
a recording by the London Philharmonic Orchestra conductor Myer Fredman. The
moods vary widely from what feels initially like a depiction of a victory
pageant, leading to doleful writing of an unsettling rather disconsolate character.
Distinctively, a lighter, calmer section comes as a welcome break and the
brass fanfare from 9:16 reminded me of knights jousting at a medieval pageant.
Contrastingly the symphony closes with a restful Adagio serving as
a bright optimistic new dawn.

The earliest work here is the six movement English Suite No. 1, Op.
12 from 1905/06 the first of five such English Suites. One of his first
works to receive a performance, it was the composer himself who conducted
the Leeds Municipal Orchestra at its première in 1907 at Leeds Town
Hall. Brian provides sufficient contrast in the movements to hold the interest
easily. I especially enjoyed the opening movement Characteristic March,a
representation of the Novello publishing house at Berners Street, London.
The curious Waltz section feels rather starchy and formal but overall
the effect is most agreeable. The final movement is extremely enjoyable and
full of merrymaking including snippets of familiar tunes such as God Save
The Queen.

The Russian State TV and Radio Company engineers have provided a satisfying
sound quality. The New Russia State Symphony Orchestra under Alexander Walker
evidently understand the turbulence of the writing. They play with an excellent
vitality and strong character in which the climaxes are thrust home decisively.

Michael Cookson

Turbulent Brian played and recorded with excellent vitality, strong character
and climaxes thrust home decisively.